Wednesday, 19 November 2008

The first legal rule to protect a plant microreserve worldwide under the legal name 'microreserve' was passed by the Valencian councilior of environment the 16.11.1998, and entered in force after its publication in the official gazette (Diario Oficial de la Generalitat Valenciana), 02.12.1998. That first Order established the official declaration of 14 PMRs in the province of Castellon. The first one was the island 'Illa Ferrera', forming part of the Nature Reserve of Columbretes Islands. Ferrera is a small island (ca. 1 ha) conserving the last remainders of the extinct climax vegetation of Columbretes archipelago -a brushland dominated by Pistacia lentiscus, Smilax aspera and Chamaerops humilis-, as well as good representativeness of the most valuable local endemics, Lobularia maritima subsp. columbretensis, and the luzerne tree Medicago citrina.

Current data on the Valencian PMR can be consulted at the list available via http://es.geocities.com/microreserves By the end of 2008, the Valencian Community holds 273 officially protected plant microreserves which enclose populations of more than 1.625 species of vascular plants. 1.288 populations of 527 species are targeted for long-term monitoring. The protected surface reaches 1.918 ha, but most PMRs are under 2 ha size.